The rapidly developing world of 3D printing has merged with the latest games console designs with the news that MakerBot and OUYA have announced a partnership to allow gamers to 3D print their own OUYA cases at home.

The OUYA console is taking on the big boys in the video games market, namely Sony’s Playstation and the Microsoft XBOX, with an Android based design that sells for a fraction of the price of the competition. Basically, the OUYA runs Android cell phone games which are usually free or cost less than $10, compared to $50 plus for an XBOX or Playstation game. For games developers and publishers there are advantages as the OUYA is open source, meaning anyone can create a game, compared to the expensive licensing costs to deal with the big console companies.

The OUYA started life as a Kickstarter project that raised over $8.5 million last August with over 63,000 backers who will start to receive their consoles shortly. If you’re one of the lucky ones who also own a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer then you can print out a custom OUYA case with this enclosure design on Thingyverse.

The Android hardware sits inside the OUYA console

The case design has been optimized to print on the Replicator 2 and features a case, a lid and a spring loaded button. The lid gives you easy access to the OUYA hardware which is designed to be upgraded as more powerful processors are released. If you’re feeling adventurous you can customize the case in your 3D design software and then print it out in whatever color filament you wish. The OUYA case prints in MakerBot’s PLA filament, but they say it might print successfully in ABS.

This is the first games console that allows this level of hardware customization for the consumer, but also opens the door for opportunities for games developers to supply 3D design files for modified cases that tie in with their games.